


Where You Least Expect It

by orphan_account



Category: My Candy Love, Sweet Crush
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, My Candy Love - Freeform, Slow Burn, Swearing, ill add more tags later, its three in the morning, well like not lovers lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 11:28:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13075920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The student body president is good at a whole lot of things, and one of those is pushing Casey's buttons. And Casey isn't exactly a picnic either.But sometimes friendships form where you least expect it.. and then maybe more.





	1. Chapter 1

"Don't be such a smartass, golden boy. Just give it back." Nathaniel raised his eyebrows, looking more amused than annoyed.

"What's the magic word?" He asked, grinning. I clenched my teeth, trying to hide my embarrassment and frustration of this entire situation. Somehow me getting Violette's stuffed lamb led to Amber grabbing it and threatening to flush it down the toilet.. And though nathaniel had taken it from her, that now meant I had to deal with the schools most cherished smartass.

"Nathaniel, you don't even know if it's actually hers," Amber began, "Maybe Casey was trying to take it from  _me_." Nathaniel looked from her to me, still holding on to the dumb lamb with a tight grip. I could feel my face begin to heat up as I grew increasingly impatient. This was getting ridiculous and going nowhere. I held out my hand for the lamb, trying not to say anything that would make our interaction any longer than needed. Nathaniel looked at my outstretched hand and then up to me.

"She's right," he said, as if he was making it his personal goal to piss me off, "How do I know it's yours?" Amber giggled, grinning from behind him. Nathaniel smiled cheekily, "What's its name?"

By now my cheeks were bright pink, and I was done. 

"His name is fuck off." I growled pushing him as hard as I could. Nathaniel yelped, surprised, stumbling a few steps back and dropping the lamb. I grabbed the stuffed animal off the floor and stormed off, flipping Nathaniel and Amber the bird from over my shoulder. The lunch bell rang.

Great.

Honestly, when Violette asked me to help her find her stuffed lamb I had been surprised. She was so easily intimidated and I tended to be.. abrasive. But she did come up to me,even if she seemed a bit scared of the consequences. I guess it made me understand how important the stupid thing was to her though. 

I sighed, walking to class. I had planned on finding Violette and giving her the lamb during lunch, but my run in with the she demon had made me behind schedule. In fact, as I walked into my next class, Mr. Faraiz confronted me.

"Your late, Casey."

I held back a groan, too done with everyone to not let out a muttered "No shit."

The rest of the day went about as well as it had began.

I got detention for my back talk in humanities, lost my assignment is science, and just did not understand anything in math. Aside from that, everything was peachy. I even got some quality time with Kim. 

"How did you get that?" Kim asked, pointing at the lamb in my hands. I had finally had time to give it to Violette, and I wasn't going to waste it, especially since I had detention after school now. I brought the lamb closer to me.

"I found it." I stated, monotone. I didn't want to get into any more arguments. I only had around five minutes to find Violette. Seeing a flash of purple through one of the door windows, I began to walk towards its classroom, only for Kim to roughly grab my wrist. 

"That's not yours," She growled, "Violettes been looking all over for it. I glared at her, trying to yank my wrist away from her grip. When that didn't work, I resorted to pinching her arm as hard as I could. She let go, wincing.

"I know," I growled, "Why the hell do you think I have it?" I was so sick of people thinking I did something wrong. This is why I stayed out of everyones shit! Every time I got involved, I ended up being to blame. I walked towards the door, muttering my hatred for this stupid toy. 

"Why are you such an ass?" Kim shouted after me, before jogging a bit to catch up. "Violette didn't do anything to you." I glared at her, so done with everyone. "Honestly, it's like you make it your personal goal to make people's lives difficult, can't you just leave at least Violette alone?" God Kim, I got it, your all buddy buddy with kim and your so good friends and-

Oh. I groaned internally, feeling like an idiot. Kim and Violette were friends. I didn't need to find Violette when I already had someone who was likely to see her at some point today. I huffed, tossing Kim the stuffed animal and turned around to head to my next class. I was so ready for the end of the day.

The rest of my classes ran fairly smoothly once I had given Violette her lamb. It was like a bad luck charm, honestly. Now I just had detention left and I could go home. And even detention was going as well as detention can go. I had even been able to figure out the concept from math today. Maybe I could finish my essay? My stomach grumbled. I had spent all of lunch looking for Violette, I didn't actually eat anything. I wondered if we had any leftover lasagna in our fridge. My mouth began to water as I began to plan what I would eat as soon as I got home. I knew about almost every single item we had in our house. I had a bad habit of checking to see exactly what and how much we had in the house. Auntie had learned about it and began making me write our grocery list every week because she could never remember what we needed. 

I smiled at the thought of Auntie. Even though I didn't actually see her around the house that much, with all her business trips, she always made me feel at home. Especially with her cooking. Oh my god was it goo-

I was torn from my thoughts by someone snapping their fingers in front of my face. "Casey!" 

I jumped, looking up at Mr. faraize. "What?" My voice a bit ruder than intended.

Mr Faraize took a breath and then spoke quickly and rushed, "The principle needs me to help her with some paperwork so I'm heading out. I'm leaving Nathaniel in charge. Don't leave until it's 5:30." And with that, he left.

I looked up to the front of the room. Nathaniel was at the teacher's desk, doing a huge stack of paperwork. I rolled my eyes. Even in his free time he was a teachers pet. Propping my feet up on my desk, I leaned back into my chair and stared at the ceiling. How many tiles were there? How big was each tile? I wondered if Ii could find the cubic centimeters of the ceiling with just the tiles. And what would the least amount of steps to finding them be? And, wow, was this really how I was going to spend the next two hours? I looked back up at Nathaniel, Only to find him looking at me with an eyebrow raised. I met his gaze, expecting for him to look away. He didn't. "What?" I asked, a little uncomfortable by the extended eye contact.

He pointed at my desk. "Don't put your feet up like your desk is some sort of foot rest," He said, "This is detention, not a lounge."

I grinned, not moving. "Really?" I asked, "I would have thought it was party central here! What with the paperwork and class assignments!"

Nathaniel glared at me. "Feet. Down."

I stayed where I was. "Bite. Me."

Nathaniel shook his head, turning back to his paperwork. "I'm so not in the mood for this." He muttered. I let out a loud bark of a laugh, enough to make him jump a bit. 

"Sorry,  _You're_ not in the mood for this?" I snorted. Nathaniel didn't respond, instead turning his glare to his paperwork. Oh no, he wasn't getting off that easily. I had to handle him just this morning taunting me for having a stuffed animal that wasn't even mine.

"Golden boy, be honest, this is like, your favorite activity, isn't it?" I grinned, seeing his grip on his pencil tighten. "I bet you can't wait to go home and tell your whole family about the blast you had today!"

Nathaniel's jaw clenched. I wasn't even sure what I was aiming for here, even. I could tell he was mad right now, not annoyed, but it was almost like I couldn't back down.

"Wow son, What did you do today?" I asked, lowering my voice to sound like his dads, "Well dad, today I kissed my teachers ass and then did all their work because there's nothing I love more than to just suck up to my professors!" Nathaniel was gripping his pencil so hard his knuckles were white.  _Jesus give him a break man!_ I ignored my conscience, continuing. "Well son, you sure make me proud! You've become a true man now that you do the principles paperwork. Nothing makes me love you mo-"

Nathaniel's face was unreadable, something that I was not a fan of. It was clear that he was mad, but only from his jaw. He didn't say anything, instead silently glaring at me, the pencil he had been writing with, still in his hand, only snapped in half. His cheeks were tinged pink, likely more from anger than from embarrassment. He was still gripping his broken pencil with all his strength. And he just kept glaring at me. I coughed awkwardly, trying to push back the guilt of being so rude. I looked out the window for a few seconds and then looked back at him. Still glaring at me. It wouldn't have been so bad if it had just been an annoyed glance, but this felt like fire, like he was trying to will me out of existence. unnerved from his gaze, I took my feet off my desk, trying to turn my attention to my planner. I couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief as a felt, I swear  _felt_ Nathaniel bring his eyes back to the paperwork in front of him. The rest of detention was silent, aside from me awkwardly clearing my throat, and him turning pages. I tried to concentrate on my homework, but no matter what, my mind kept returning to my taunts. I mean, they had been cruel, but I hadn't expected them to cause such a reaction from Nathaniel. Then again, I could tell that he was getting genuinely angry, and I kept going. But he had done that to me too! With the stuffed toy! I sighed, unable to get mad about it. It wasn't the same.

Finally, the clock hit five thirty. Nathaniel didn't say anything though. He just kept scribbling things down on his papers, furiously working to get whatever he was doing done. I sat where I was awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Mr Faraize always dismissed me, and Nathaniel didn't even realize it was time for me to go. Under normal circumstances I would have just left but.. I felt kinda bad. Just leaving didn't really feel like the right thing. I just looked at him, hoping he'd sense the attention aimed towards him. He just kept writing things down though, and I just kept stiffly sitting at my desk. After ten minutes, I began to think of what to do. I could cough to get his attention? No that could be seen as rude. I could just say I need to go? I'd probably end up saying something mean. I just sat there, looking from the door to Nathaniel, again and again, eventually just looking at  him. Nathaniel was still tan from the summer, though as he wrote on his papers, his watch would move a bit, and reveal a hidden pale stip that hadn't been touched by the sun. His blonde hair was lighter than his sisters, and while the sun had made his skin darker, it made his hair lighter. I watched him work on page after page of whatever it was he was doing until finally after another twenty minutes he looked at his watch and then up to me. 

"What time are you supposed to go home again?" He asked, no anger in his voice. I blinked surprised. I wasn't sure what I had expected, but it had been a lot worse. He just looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. 

"Casey? Hello?"

I opened my mouth, hesitating for a moment before mumbling a quick "Fithr..y"

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. "Say again?" He asked. 

I scratched the back of my neck. "Um.." Nathaniel moved his hand in a circle, making a sort of  _Out with it_ gesture.

"Five thirty?" My voice was a little high and strained, stifled by the embarrassment of knowingly waiting an extra half an hour to leave detention. Nathaniel just blinked, looking at me. 

"Five thirty," He repeated, "You realize it's six now, right?" I nodded, quickly gathering my things in an attempt to get out of the room as quick as possible. "Casey." I looked up, knowing I was red up to my ears. He looked at me expectant, waiting for an explanation for why I made him wait an extra thirty minutes. I took a breath, and began to try to come up with some excuse while also shoving all of my assignments into my backpack.

"You- I mean I thought you were busy and then I wasn't sure if you knew or not, and I didn't know if someone just told me the wrong thing and I felt kinda bad and I know your busy and stuff with this paperwork stuff and I felt kinda bad and then I also wasn't sure if the principle told you to wait or something an-" I stopped my panicked explanation, being cut off by Nathaniel laughing. 

"Okay Casey," He chuckled, "I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded, before shuffling out the door and walking home.

God, I hated detention.

 


	2. Chapter 2

When I got home at around six thirty, I was surprised to find door unlocked. I hesitantly walked inside, feeling a bit uneasy. Auntie wouldn't have gotten back until nine-ish.

"Oh! Casey, dear!" I jumped at her voice, confused. I guess she was home? Auntie grabbed my wrist, quickly pulling me into our apartment. Her outfit was blindingly bright. Glittery pink dress, pink hair, pink shoes, all tied together with her hot pink gloves. Auntie dragged me to our table, sitting me down. There was a big plate of homemade chicken strips in front of me. My mouth began to water. I had lived so much of my life without Aunties godlike cooking, and honestly, it was still something that I wasn't quite used to.

"I got off work early today so I thought we could make dinner together! Of course you weren't here so I ended up making it myself. Where have you been?" 

I chewed the inside of my cheek, not wanting to get the disappointed look Auntie gave me when I did something wrong. Instead of saying anything, I reached into my pocket and handed her my pink detention slip. Not wanting to see her reaction, I grabbed a few chicken tenders and began to chow down. Auntie sighed, clearly a little frustrated, before sitting down across from me.

"Casey, you're such a smart young woman," She began, ignoring my bitter laugh, "But you won't get anywhere if you are always getting in trouble. What happened this time?" 

I looked at Auntie, examining her face. She had dark bags under her eyes from working so hard, and now her signature glowing smile was nowhere to be seen. I scratched my cheek, looking back at the food in front of me.

"I had been trying to find this girl because she had lost her doll, and then it made me late for class." Auntie raised an eyebrow, that wasn't it. I huffed, continuing quietly, "..And then when my teacher told me I was late, I spoke back to her. Rudely." 

Auntie sighed, before taking out a hot pink pen and scribbling her signature onto my detention slip and handing it back to me. "I expect you to apologize to that teacher. Were you at least able to get the doll to whoever you were trying to find?," She asked. I nodded quickly, and Aunties bright smile returned. "Good!" She cheered, "Now let's finish dinner and you can go get started on your homework!"

I let out a sigh of relief, thankful to be living with someone so understanding ad kind.

When I moved in with Auntie, she hired someone to repaint the walls. Now, instead of a bright neon pink, our walls were a nice light blue. Auntie kept her room the strange color, but the rest of our apartment felt normal. There was always a bit of glitter everywhere, but all of our furniture was muted colors, or as Auntie liked to call them, "Boring and depressing". We lived in a two bedroom apartment, my room being the larger one. When I first got there, there hadn't been anything in it but a twin sized bed. I kept the bed, slowly adding things to my room. Now I owned a vanity, a desk, some drawers, and a giant beanbag. My walls didn't have any pictures on it, except for one of my mom and me from when I was young. It was a place where I could concentrate. A place where I felt safe.

Glaring at my empty word document, I put my hair up and got ready for a long night of homework.

**__________________________________________________________________________________________**

I was known by the teachers as "The problem student," on the same level as Castiel. My back talk and missing assignments led me to get in trouble often, and it didn't help that I got sick so often. I had managed to avoid getting into too much trouble lately. I was trying extra hard to get my assignments in on time, and so far it was working. I started getting good grades on my projects, so my overall grades were also been going up. Well, for most of my classes. History and french were fine, I had no trouble with them, I really only struggled staying awake. Math and science on the other hand, were something else entirely. I was able to finish the homework, but what should have taken me ten minutes, ended up taking me half an hour. The math and chemistry were something I just couldn't get a grasp on, no matter what. I thought that now my teachers would be happier with my performance in class, since my assignments were coming in on time and all. Instead though, the teachers began to think that I wouldn't participate during class. I mean why wouldn't they think that? I was doing well on my assignments, so it should have been safe to assume that I understood everything. It probably didn't help that I refused to ask for more explanation. Or that I pretended I knew what I was doing. Really, I made a lot of bad choices in class, ones that led to my teachers calling me out.

It had been a really difficult month for me in the end of fall. I hadn't got a lot of sleep from my insomnia, and when I did fall asleep, I was plagued with nightmares. I had been used to nightmares, but they were becoming more and more frequent, almost every night, and I caused me to get less and less sleep, leaving me in a trance throughout my classes. I would be trying my hardest to pay attention to my teacher, only for my eyes to fall shut for a few moments as their voice became more of a white noise than something to actively listen too. During math we usually had some quick instructions on what to do, and then we would turn to our textbooks for questions. Our teacher would pass out a worksheet or a packet of problems, and then once we finished those our teacher would give us the homework to work on. I spent the majority of class starring at my textbook, trying to decipher the words written within. They may have been gibberish, it always took me at least half of the period to actually understand what we were doing. In this particular class, I was running off about an hour of sleep, a bite of burnt toast, and any will power I had left from the day. It wasn't enough.

"Casey." Mrs. Suggs' voice was barely legible over the ringing of my ears. I chewed the inside of my cheeks, trying and failing to keep  my eyelids from falling down, shielding my eyes from the aggressive brightness coming from our way-to-bright lights. I forced them open as I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Casey." I looked up at my teacher, watching her scowl grow. She had mistaked my tired face as one of malice. "Would you care to tell the class the answer to number twelve on your worksheet?" She asked. I raised an eyebrow at her. She could see my paper. She could tell there wasn't anything written. I shook my head no. Her frown deepened.

"Would that be because you don't have anything down?" She asked, her voice mockingly curious, "And do you not have anything down because you have been asleep all of class, or because you simply find the insides of your eyelids more interesting than my class?"

I held up a hand, signaling for her to stop. Closing my eyes, I responded, "No, they're both about as interesting as watching paint dry." Some of my classmates scoffed or snickered, only to return to their worksheets when Mrs. Suggs gave them a sharp glare. She turned her attention back to me. Smiling, she gestured to the room.

"Perhaps it would be more interesting from the front of the room, yes? How about I have you switch with Iris?" Iris looked up, her cheeks turning pink at the attention on her. Mrs Suggs just raised her eyebrows expectantly at Iris, watching as she scrambled to grab her things and rush to the back of the room where we were. Mrs. Suggs led me to the seat in the front, sitting me down right across from her desk. 

"This way you have a front row seat to learn! No need to thank me, I'm always here to help." Her fake cheeriness dug into me. I grit my teeth, muttering some sort of thanks under my breath before turning back to the ilegible notebook that had caused me such misery in the first half of class. Did I understand any of it? Ha. No. I turned my attention to my surroundings. I was seated in between Alexy and Nathaniel, wth Armin directly behind me. I was almost uncomfortably close to the Mrs Suggs' desk. _Get back to your  work_ , I reminded myself. Kind of hard to do when you apparently have no ability to concentrate on anything. About five minutes later I raised my hand.

"Can I go use the bathroom?" 

Mrs. Suggs shook her head. "You've already wasted so much time Casey. I don't think that you need to go to the bathroom more than you need to complete your worksheet." Glancing at the worksheet in question, I think she sensed that I didn't understand what I was learning. She turned her attention to Nathaniel, her face lighting up when she realized that he was finished with not just the worksheet, but also the homework.

"Nathaniel isn't doing anything!" She cheered, her voice obnoxiously loud, "How about he helps you out. It's pretty clear you're having some trouble." 

I sunk down into my seat, already knowing my face was red. "I'm fine." I snarled. Who was she to say those things? Honestly, did she not know how rude that was? I should just walk out! I grew angrier and angrier, focusing so hard on what I would say when I stormed out of class, that I didn't even notice that Nathaniel had pulled his desk close to mine until he snapped his fingers in front of my face. Jumping, I slapped his hand out of my face, glaring at him. His face was unamused. He clearly didn't want to do this either.

"It's not like this was my plan, so let's just get you to understand this so I can get back to my other homework." He paused, waiting for me to agree. I huffed, reluctantly nodding. "Good. Now, what is it that you don't understand?"

**_________________________________________________________________________________________**

I hated him, I  _HATED_ him! How could anyone be so condescending and patronizing and still be loved by a so many people? It's not like I had  _tried_ to not concentrate! I was doing my damn best! But no, my best was clearly not enough. Sorry, golden boy, not everyone could be as perfect as you!

I grit my teeth, balling by hands into fists as I thought about my math class on the way home. He was so infuriating! He wasn't even able to help me! He just highlighted the stupid important parts in my stupid text books and expected me to understand exactly what to do immediately! God, I hated that dumb textbook. If it wasn't the only thing keeping me from failing, I would have threw it out by now. _Stupid heavy asshole of an object._

I stopped, mid step. Wait... Something wasn't right. My backpack was resting comfortably on my shoulders, not weighing me down and causing me major back pain. I groaned. _Goddamnit_. I had left it in my locker. I needed that stupid thing for my homework. My homework that, may I add, also included the worksheet from class. Groaning, I walked back to my school. I checked my watch.  _3:45_. Okay. Not too bad. I'd get home half an hour late, but there wasn't much I was missing. School was only like fifteen minutes away.

When I got back to school, I let out a sigh of relief to find that the doors weren't locked. I rushed to my locker, hoping not to run into any unwanted company. Grabbing my textbook, I began to leave when-

"Awww did the loser stay at school to study?" Ambers nasally voice rang out through the silent halls. I turned around to meet her trio. Li and Charlotte smirked at me, not saying anything. I clenched my jaw. If I did anything, I would probably get in trouble. My luck always seemed to turn out that way. Amber wrinkled her nose.

"Ew! Do you girls smell that?" Li just gave Amber a confused look, not saying anything, "It smells like an asshole who doesn't know that no one wants her here!"

I let out a bark of laughter. "Wow Amber! I would have thought you would have become nose blind to your smell years ago! Or at least that your fruity perfume would cover it up! What is that anyway?" 

Amber smirked. "Chanel No 5, not that  _you_ would know what that is." 

"Really?" I asked, "I could have sworn it was the new self centered bitch scent!" 

Amber's hand suddenly whipped towards me, slapping me hard (and I mean  _all her strength_ hard) across the cheek. A loud _thwap_ rang through the hall. A whole new anger forming over me, I jumped at her, body slamming into her and knocking her into the ground. She let out a shriek, and opened her mouth to spew an insult, only to be interrupted before she could even begin.

"What the hell are you doing to my sister?" 

I froze, knowing exactly who was right behind me. My eyes widened as I looked at Amber. Her cruel face was now replaced by a terrified one, as she scrambled away from me.

"She just attacked me for no reason!" She cried out, pointing  at me with a shaky hand. I glared at her.

"Amber, don't fucking lie! You had it coming and you know i-" I was cut off by two hands being placed on my shoulders and roughly turning me around to face their owner. Nathaniel was glaring down ant me from a distance that was much to close for comfort.

"Are you serious right now Casey? You're really trying to act like the victim here?" He was a lot taller than I had realised, I didn't even come up to his shoulders. He looked angrier than he had been the day I had detention with him, only this time he was shouting.

"You genuinely want me to believe you,  _You!_ Over my sister? While your standing over her? When I saw you with my own two eyes shove her to the ground?" I took a step back opening my mouth to respond, only for him to keep going, even taking a step closer to be intimidatingly in my personal space.

"It's like you enjoy making people's lives harder!" He growled, "First you mock me, then you make me teach you  _simple math_ and what thanks do I get? You physically assaulting my sister! You think nothing is your fault, but you know what? It almost always is! If there always is a problem wherever you go, guess what?  _Your_ the common factor Casey, You're the problem." 

I didn't respond, walking away. I hated this school. Nathaniel didn't follow me with his comments, instead turning to his attention to Amber, fawning over her, asking if I hurt her and if he should talk to the principle. I quickly out my earbuds in, blasting music so I couldn't here him as I left school to go home.

When I got to my apartment, it was empty. Unsure if I was disappointed or greatful for the alone time, I headed to the bathroom looking into the mirror at my still stinging cheek. There was almost a clear pink hand mark, standing out on my pale skin. I glared at my reflection, putting concealer over my cheek so Auntie wouldn't see it. Not that I actually had to worry about that. 

By the time she got home, I was in my room, pretending to be asleep. 

_She didn't need to deal with another problem._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems like Casey and Nathaniel need to fix some fundamental issues within them. Nathaniel doesn't realize he's struck a nerve.


	3. Chapter 3

I buried my face into my pillows, willing myself to fall back asleep. It was around four in the morning, and I was wide awake. I hadn't had any nightmared that night, and I got a solid four hours of sleep, waking up periodically. Rolling over onto my back, I grimaced at the thought of getting up for school. The walk there was always miserable in the winter. In the spring and early fall I would look forward to the walk to and from school. I would always enjoy the time by myself, it gave me time to reflect on my day. My surroundings were always beautiful, orange leaves on the trees, flowers still fighting the cold. Now it was me fighting the cold. The temperature dropped, and now the winter chill cut through every layer of clothing I owned. It was almost winter, and I had no motivation to leave my warm apartment to the prison called school. I stared at my ceiling, trying to get myself to go shower. Reaching over to my bedside table, I grabbed my phone. I unlocked it to check my schedule. Did I have PE today? I scanned the list of classes. Yup. PE. Right before lunch. Great. No point in taking a shower now. I was going to get sweaty anyway. I scrolled through my music, hitting play on spotify's  _morning_ _wake up_ playlist.

Groaning, I sat up in my bed. Since it was almost winter, the sun hadn't risen yet. My room was still dark so I switched on my light, wincing at the sudden brightness. I got up and grabbed my clothes, deciding on loose blue jeans with a big belt and a red sweater. I dressed myself quickly, wanting to spend as little time as possible in the cold. Moving to my vanity, I checked my my reflection in the mirror. Any sign of a tan from the summer had left me months ago, leaving only my pale skin. I had lost a few freckles, over fall, but they still dusted over my nose. My cheeks were already pink from the chill but they luckily lacked bruises from yesterday's encounter with Amber. Yesterday I had been so frustrated, filled with anger and loathing towards the two golden siblings. Today on the other hand, I was excited, maybe because I had gotten more sleep that usual, or maybe because of the cheery music playing in my room. I smiled at my mirror self, our green eyes meeting. Amber was going to pay. I was going to make her and Nathaniel's lives hell. 

Since I didn't have a bruise, I didn't bother putting on any makeup. Instead, I quickly washed my face and grabbed a granola bar from the back of my drawers. Another habit I had picked up in my early teen years. Even if there was food in the fridge, I always made sure to have food hidden somewhere in my room at all times. Now it was just out of habit, but back then? It was how I survived. I involuntarily shivered, recalling all my hungry nights.  _That's not important now,_ I reminded myself. I nodded to myself, no it wasn't.

I wasn't sure when Auntie went to bed, but I knew it was late. She had been so tired lately, and the last thing I wanted to do was wake her up this early in the morning. Instead of continuing to stomp around the kitchen, I scribbled a note to Auntie, telling her I was heading to school. After shoving my heavily socked feet into my boots, I grabbed my coat, slipping out of the apartment and into the frigid outdoors.

The walk to school, though utterly freezing, was calm and relaxing. I was still kind of sleepy, and the rising sun made it feel like the world was waking up with me. My lips, usually turned downward into an unfriendly scowl, were forming a small smile. I'm sure I looked strange, drowning in a giant down jacket, a goofy smile resting on my face. No one should have been that happy in that early of morning, especially when the sidewalk was coated with ice. I was wearing my giant rainboots, and while they kept my wool socks warm and toasty, they also had no grip on their bottoms. Luckily there was salt thrown on where I was walking, so I only slid around once in a while.

Since it was a fifteen minute walk to school, I got there in no time. Even though I hadn't spent much time outside, I was glad to finally get there. My nose was getting cold, even through my scarf. Actually, my everything was cold, despite my efforts to warm myself. Rushing to the door, I didn't notice the puddle that had frozen over. I shrieked, doing one of those falls that only cartoon characters who step on a banana peel should be able to do. I landed hard on my back, the force almost knocking the wind out of me. I groaned, rolling onto my stomach and standing up. I should have been angry, should have been annoyed at the stupid shit happening to me so early. But I wasn't. 

"Heh." I started chuckling, trying to contain my laughter before someone walked through the courtyard and saw me in a fit of laughter for no reason. My efforts were unsuccessful though, and I just laughed harder, snorts escaping my mouth along with giggles. I tried to calm myself down, knowing that if I laughed to hard then-

I hiccuped, following it with a groan. I didn't laugh a lot, and when I did, I tended to get the hiccups. I hiccuped again, my laughter dying down. Sighing, I brushed myself off and walked through the door, this time avoiding the icey land mines. The school was empty, only unlocked by the janitor so he could do his work. My footsteps echoed through the otherwise silent halls as I walked to my locker. I ran my hand over all the lockers I passed, my hand leaving a smudge on each one. I grinned once I reached mine. Most of these lockers were bland, the usual blue. Mine on the other hand, had the word  _lover_ sharpied on. I had gotten to sweet amoris about a year ago, around five months after school had actually started. Almost everyone had been here since middle school, and most of them just kept their locker that they had got from the beginning. My locker had been defaced a while before I got there, and there were none left. Originally it had said loser, but I had just read  _IT_ and had chosen to take an artistic choice, painting the S over with a V.  I had had a disdain for my locker from the get go, already stressed out and confused from so much change. Now I cherished my locker, it was part of my life. I felt like it summed up my time in Sweet Amoris well. I felt like it summed up Sweet Amoris in general well.

I emptied my excess clothing and some of my backpack into my locker, only keeping my math textbook and my folder of assignments. Feeling the weight of my backpack significantly decrease, I walked to the library, sitting down at the table farthest from the door. I plopped my textbook on the table, taking a seat. I had already finished my assignments, and I understood most of what we learned now. I would never have admitted it, but Nathaniel's stupid highlighting had actually helped me figure out what to study. Going over what we had learned yesterday, I pulled out my granola bar, munching on it, completely ignoring the no food policy. I glanced at my watch, sighing contently with a mouthful of food. It was only around five thirty. There was so much time to burn. I chuckled, closing my unstudied textbook and instead taking out my earbuds and hitting play on my classical music playlist. I could feel my eyelids droop, and I smiled lightly. Maybe I could get more sleep. I quickly set an alarm for seven thirty, propping my feet up onto the table, right next to my homework. No one was at school yet, leaving the building with a calm air to it. My breathing slowed as I began to doze off.

My alarm was blaring. A continuous  _BEEP, BEEP, BEEP,_ on and on and on.

My eyes snapped open. I scrambled to shut it off, breathing a sigh of relief when the deafening sound came to an end. Jesus, I forgot how annoying it was, I had woken up before it for a solid week. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I glanced at my phone, checking my schedule. First class: history with Mr. Faraiz. I grabbed my stuff, shoving it into my backpack with no particular organization. There was still half an hour before my class, but I tended to have a tiny habit for being late. Sighing, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and started to head out of the room. I was halfway out the door when someone cleared their throat from behind me. I stiffened.

"Um, excuse me?" 

Violettes soft voice was easy to recognise, and I relaxed immediately, turning towards her. Her portfolio was held tight in her arms, as if she was worried I would take it. She looked at me for a moment, either assessing my mood or waiting for me to respond to her. I just raised an eyebrow expectantly, no words escaping my mouth. Violette clutched her portfolio tighter.

"I just wanted to thank you?" Her voice was somehow more timid than usual, like she thought her gratefulness would insult me. She took a breath before continuing, "And also to apologize for Kim. She didn't know you were helping."

I laughed harshly, making her jump a little. She took a step back, creating more distance between us. A tiny ball of guilt grew in my stomach. I wasn't trying to intimidate the small girl. Not wanting to make her feel trapped in the room, I gave her a quick nod and smile before turning back around and walking out of the library.

_______________________________________________________________________________

History had been a blast. Mr. Faraiz had some of his students from twelfth grade do a project on Vikings, and part of the assignment was to present it to my class. Now I'm sure Mr. Faraiz had thought they would show us a powerpoint, maybe read us an essay, but by no means did he expect what they did. That was made apparent by how much his eyes bulged out when the Seniors came running in with two cardboard boats, screaming their war cries. Half of the class consisted of a bunch of teenage vikings attacking the sophomore history class, and telling us to go into the giant box labeled  _PRISON_ in blue sharpie. The second half, while perhaps not as filled with comotion, was just as interesting, as the girls and boys dawning horned helmets acted in a play, and described how vikings affected history, ending only when the class bell rang. Everyone filed out, leaving me and a few students still grabbing their stuff to stare in wonder. Mr. Faraiz starred at the room in aw. In the comotion, the desks had been scattered, and chairs had been flipped over. My teacher sat down, running a hand through his hair. 

_I expect you to apologize to your teacher_

Auntie was probably right. It would be good to stay on the good side of my teachers so I could get away with the kind of shit that the seniors had just pulled. I opened my mouth to speak, only to snap it back shut. I grimaced. The idea of apologizing was not my favorite thing. After all, I had been doing something good. It wasn't  my fault I was grumpy. I shook my head, knowing I was being prideful for no reason, but still refusing to apologize. I chewed on my cheek, thinking of what I would say, only for Mr. Faraiz to say something before me.

"Casey, do you have a class soon?" I looked up, realizing that I had just been sitting in the next to empty classroom. 

"Sorry, say again?"

Mr. Faraiz pushed his glasses up his nose. "I know this isn't exactly something that anyone would enjoy, but would you mind helping out with getting this room back in order? I have to go print the worksheets for the seniors that made this mess."

I nodded, maybe a bit too enthusiastically. This was perfect, show him I respect him enough to clean up after his class. Cancel out the mouthing off. He gave me a thankful smile, before rushing out of the room, leaving me with only the sounds of desk legs scraping against the floor.

About five minutes later, I was only halfway done. It was taking a surprising amount of time to clean up. Now that I thought about it though, they had been throwing red confetti as blood, so it really shouldn't have been that much of a shock. I had brushed all the confetti off the desks and chairs, so that it was covering only the floor. Now I just needed a broom. I walked to the closet in the back of the room, digging through the mess of random cleaning supplies for the broom. After a few moments I found it, grabbing it and turning back around. I scowled, my good day feeling much less good suddenly.

"Someone made quite the mess."

I glared at Nathaniel, holding the broom tighter in my hand. He just looked back calmly from the door frame, in his aggravatingly professional way. I didn't want to talk to this ass, I reminded myself. Biting my tongue, I refused to take the bait, instead beginning to sweep the layer of confetti, refusing to look at him. He didn't say anything else, and I relaxed once I heard the door close again, only to jump as a table started screeching against the floor. My head snapped up to see Nathaniel moving desks and chairs like it was his hobby.

"The hell are you doing, prez?" 

Nathaniel set down the chair he was holding, raising his eyebrows. "Mr. Faraiz sent me to clean. He said none of his students were willing to help out."

I felt my face heat up a bit, more out of anger than embarrassment. I turned my attention back to sweeping, muttering a quick  _whatever_ under my breath. If that's what Mr. Faraiz thought of me then fine, it was his loss anyway. I just wanted to get this stupid room cleaned so I could go, because despite what my idiot teacher thought, I wasn't a damn liar.

Luckily it was done in no time now that it wasn't just me. 

"I'm going to go file some paperwork. Can you handle finishing the rest of this on your own?" Nathaniel's voice was condescending. I looked over to him, glaring.

"I'm sure somehow I'll manage," I sneered.  

Nathaniel just shook his head and left. I moved the last few tables, and threw out all the red paper, leaving with some time before my next class.

Later that day I heard Mr. Faraiz thank Nathaniel for cleaning his room.

I left before I heard his reaction. I didn't need to know. 

_Assholes._


	4. Chapter 4

**Journal Entry: January 5th-**

**_So here's the thing about my teachers: they hate me. I mean yeah, am I an asshole? Of course. But do I get my homework in on time? Do I try? Do I clean out their classrooms without complaint?? Yes! And what thanks do I get from it? Nada. But as soon as golden boy picks up a pen they dropped or something, they're all ready to throw him a damn party! And don't even get me started on his sister. Somebody, ANYBODY tell me how she and her minions (all above 5, 8" mind you) can team up against me, A 5, 3"  girl with no provoking and get away with it, but as soon as I defend myself like a normal fucking person, I get in trouble! Like what the hell??_  
**

 

I took a breath, taking my hands away from the keyboard. My typing had got a bit too aggressive, each loud tap drawing more and more attention to me. I scanned the room, meeting my classmates stares with a bitter scowl. 

Writing class was one of the few classes I actually enjoyed. Our teacher, Mrs K, let us do whatever we wanted in school as long as it had something to do with literature or writing. She gave us assignment sure, but they were never boring.  _Write about your heroes, write about an adventure.._ essentially write about whatever you want. I technically wasn't supposed to be in this class, it was really more for advanced writers who had done well in English their freshman year, but with some lucky fluke of the system I had managed to get in. It was mostly juniors and seniors in the class so I didn't actually talk to that many of them. The few I did talk to were great though. Actually, it was only two. 

"Storm growing Casey?"

I had originally met Jade when I went to the gardening club, but I only spoke to him for a moment before he had to go. Still, it was a relief to see someone I knew in my art class this year. I may have spoken a sentence to him, but even just knowing his name was comforting. He was a junior and had transferred here a few months ago after his schools gardening program was canceled. Even though he had friends here at Sweet Amoris too, he said he was happy to have someone who felt a little out of the group too. We had assigned seating, but he was right behind me.

I spun my chair over to look at him. 

"huh?"

He grinned. "You've been punching your keyboard instead of just typing," Jade laughed at my irritated look, "Tell her, Rosa."

Rosa was a sophomore like me, but it was no surprise that she was in this class. The white haired girl had written for a fashion blog ever since sixth grade, and over the past few months it had got a lot of attention. She had mastered the art of description, and Mrs K knew it. Rosa was actually supposed to be in photography, but she jumped at the chance to be in Writing. 

Rosalya looked up from whatever she was working on, smiling at me. "Darling, it's not your computer's fault you're in a bad mood," She smiled, turning her attention towards Jade, changing her voice into her gossip, sing song, tone. "A certain blonde has been giving her a little trouble lately."

Jade leaned back in his chair, "What happened this time? Casey seems to have a bit of a problem, don't you think?"

I smacked his arm. "I'm right here!" I snapped, "Besides, I could care less about Amber."

Rosa and Jade just looked at each other, sharing a knowing smile.

"Okay sweetie," Rosa hummed, "Just don't take it out on your computer, okay hun?"

I glared at her, opting to respond with a somewhat rude gesture rather than words. She chuckled knowingly, turning her attention back to her writing. Jade patted me on the back, before starting to type again. I sighed, deciding to do the same.

 

**_Okay, Maybe I was overreacting a bit. Not all my teachers hate me right? I mean sure, Mr Faraiz may have been super rude today, but he's usually pretty chill. And Mrs K is always super sweet. And I mean maybe my teachers aren't that great, but I have Aunty right?_ **

 

I stared at my screen, unsure of what to write next. 

"Jade," I whispered, "What do I write about?"

My favorite gardener just waved me off, already immersed in his writing.

I sighed, deciding to just work on my essay, that way Mrs. K could edit it later. I pulled up my document. Mr. Gozzola was gonna lose his shit when he read this. 

...maybe not. 

Whatever I had a week left.

______________________________________________________________________________

 When I turned in my essay, I had expected an A to B-. Not an F. It didn't even take a day for Mr. Gozzola to grade it. He took one look at my essay, saw it was six pages long, and immediately began reading.

I had written my essay on the history of soap, of all things. It was for business, and he put it on the list of things we could write , so I figured  _why not?_ Well, it turned out to be really interesting, and I ended up getting into my project. I got a ton of sources, made a ton of notes, and worked on it every night and during all my free periods. I mean, it was still my writing of course, nothing deserving an award, but I hadn't expected him to immediately turn it down!

At least it was because it was actually good though.

"Casey, can you come up here for a second?"

My stomach did a little flip, but I stood up, and made my way to the front.My seat was in the way back. I was in between Armin and Rosalya with Castiel in front of me. I walked past the isles of desks, glaring as I passed Kim and Amber and Nathaniel on my way over to him.

"Yeah?" I ignored my classmates stares, instead fixing a scowl on my face and looking at Mr. Gozzola. His face was serious, and he looked pissed.

"I can not take this." 

I felt my eyes bug out a bit. "Excuse me?" Maybe it was because I wasn't writing it correctly? "Why not?"

He handed me my paper back. "This is clearly not yours." 

I stared at the essay,  _my essay_. He had written on the front. " _Meet me after class. Plagiarism is not acceptable in this class._ What the fuck? Seriously what the fuck? Who the hell did he think he was? I looked up at him.

"Is  this a fucking joke?" My voice was deadly low, and the classroom immediately went silent. At that moment you could have heard a pin drop, but instead I heard the words of the worlds biggest asshole. Me and the rest of my peers.

"Casey, I've read your work before. It doesn't look like this." 

"And tell me," my voice was wavering as I desperately tried not to yell, "What does my work  _usually_ look like?" My hands were balled up in fists, and I was ready to fucking kill.

"You know what your writing looks like. So do I." How was his voice so calm?

"No really! Please tell me, I really should know!" And there was my yelling. "Because next time I'll be extra careful to dumb it down for you!"

His face twisted from serious to irritated as he snapped, "Young lady, you are in enough trouble as it is right now, I suggest you don't take that tone with me."

I took a shuddering breath. "Fine," I snarled through grit teeth, "Tell me  _exactly_ why you don't think this is my work?"

He sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I tell you what, if you explain this to me, I won't fail you." He looked at my face, seeing my rage before adding "As much as you think so Casey, us teachers aren't against you."

I blinked, before walking back to my desk to grab my footnotes and sources. Everyone's eyes followed me. I brought them back to Mr. Gozzola, tossing them on his table. "Here," I tried to keep my voice calm. "Is this good enough for you?"

He shook his head. "I told you Casey, all you have to do is explain it." 

I opened my mouth, trying to show him how ridiculous he was being. Unable to find words that were elegant or well, respectful, I slammed my hands onto his desk. "How in the Hell is this not explanation enough?" I shouted, gesturing to my notes.

He just looked at me. "Is that a no then? You won't explain?" 

"I shouldn't have to, you dick!" 

Mr. Gozzola raised an eyebrow at me. He took out a pen and wrote one letter on my paper.

_F._

I looked up at him and then back down at my paper. He just went back to grading other peoples essays. Silently, I shoved the essay into my pocket and went back to my seat. The classroom was quiet, but people quickly began whispering.

Rosalya looked at me. "Did you-" She stopped herself when she saw my glare, "What are you going to do?"

I grabbed my folder and my backpack. "Leave."

Mr Gozzola looked up at me when he heard the door open. He opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him. "Save it, asshole." I left the room, slamming the door on my way out.

I didn't know where to go. This was my last class of the day, but it felt more like skipping and less like storming out if I just left school. I walked through the hallway, finally stopping at the library. I peeked through the door window to see if anyone was there. Just the librarians and a few students. I opened the door and went in, dropping my backpack on the ground next to a shelf in the back. I glanced at the book closest to me.  _A collection of essays_. I snorted. No thanks. I sat on the floor, leaning against the shelf.

I did enjoy the library. It was one of the few places in school that I chose to go to. It was quiet and warm and it always had that book smell. There were a few student in it right now, but no one loud and obnoxious. The only sounds were of pages turning and the librarian typing. I stared at the ceiling. it had lights hanging from it, but they weren't on right now. The library had a ton of windows, so we only ever turned on the lights if it was dark outside. I reached into my backpack, and took out a book I had borrowed a bit ago. It was The Invisible Man, so it was almost impossible for me to read, but I was getting through it slowly. Very very slowly.

I only was in the library for ten minutes before I was interrupted.

"Hey." 

I looked up from my book, to be met with a very annoying blonde. "The hell do you want, prez?"

"Mr. Gozzola told me to bring you back to-" He stopped talking when I laughed. Well, laugh-barked. 

"Yeah, I don't think so." I turned my attention back to my book. Nathaniel stood there, not saying anything. Not looking up, I raised a hand and waved at him. "Buh-bye golden boy."

He huffed. "He said not to come back unless I bring you with me."

I looked up, grinning. "Then get comfortable, bud."

The comment left me with another three minutes of peace and quiet with my book. Nathaniel gave his signature patronizing "I'm better than you" sighs and walked off, only to come back a few minutes later.

This time I realized he was in the library as soon as I heard the door open. I didn't look up, instead focusing more on my book, trying to read, even though all I could think of was the phrase "steady scientific gaze". How could someone write something so well worded, yet so impossible to read?

Nathaniel's feet came into view, and I finally looked up. 

"Back so soon, Golden Boy?"

Nathaniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mr. Gozzola says that it's fine if I don't come back to class, but not if I come back without you." There was clear irritation in his voice, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh my god!" I gasped, "Does the student body president  _not_ want to do the teachers bidding for once?"

He just glared at me. Huffing, he sat down on the floor, leaning against the shelf across from me. I wrinkled my nose. He was probably six or seven feet away from me, but I could live a hundred miles from him and still be too close. 

"Can't you go somewhere else?" I grumbled. I wasn't going to be able to read this monstrosity of a book with someone paying attention to me.

Nathaniel pulled out a book of his own from his backpack. "That would kind of mean I was missing class for no reason, don't you think?"

I rolled my eyes. "Clearly you don't know a blessing when you see one."

Nathaniel didn't respond, already reading his book. I couldn't see the title, but it had to have been over six hundred pages long. I shook my head, mystified, before turning my attention to the piece of literature in my lap. I got approximately two sentences in before my mind wandered. 

The only reason I was trying to read this dumb book was because of my mom and how she raised me. 

 _Always push yourself to understand the mysteries in life._  

Yeah, like why I get in trouble when I try? I glared at the page I was on. Hey, I was trying on this, maybe someone will accuse me of stealing it or something. I tilted my head back, letting it rest against the shelf. A corner of some book dug into the nape of my neck. Nathaniel said something, but I wasn't paying attention. I glanced at him, he looked like he was suspicious of something. His eyes were narrowed and he was raising an eyebrow. 

"Huh?" I asked?

Nathaniel rolled his eyes, as if it was the world's biggest inconvenience to repeat himself. "I said did you really even do it?"

I blinked, staring at him for a moment. "What?" I snarled.

"Did you do your essay?"

I opened my mouth, but words didn't come out. "I-" That was all I could say, before cutting myself off. I didn't want to say anything that would get me in trouble, nor did I want to get kicked out of the library for shouting. I took a deep breath, continuing.

"Why," I whisper-yelled, "Does everyone keep asking that?" I threw my hands up in the air. "Honestly, if he even put the slightest bit of effort in looking down at my footnotes, he would have seen that all my research was right there!" Nathaniel didn't say anything so I continued, my voice getting faster and faster.

"I mean, sure, was it the best work? No! Of course not! Have you read my writing? But he can't base his entire theory that I stole my essay off the fact that I'm bad at writing essays. The closest I got to plagiarizing was having Mrs. K edit it! And then Rosa thought I cheated, She was in class with me when I wrote it! I mean seriously-"

"Casey."

"-Does everyone here have a stick in their ass? Because it sure seems like it! And you're no exception, golden boy! Don't go around thinking you're all that and a bag of chips because-"

" _Casey.._ "

"-You are certainly not a walk in the park, like I thought  _I_ was a drag to be around but-"

"Casey!" Nathaniel snapped. I finally stopped talking, instead channeling all my energy to give him a death glare. He rolled his eyes. "A simple  _yes_ would have sufficed."

I laughed. "Not for Mr. Gozzola."

Nathaniel went back to reading, seamingly bored with the conversation. I went back to quietly fuming. And it was like that until the bell rang fifteen minutes later.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this chapter at three in the morning. I can never figure out how to write beginnings, so the story should be an easier read from here. If you see any grammar mistakes and what not, definitely put it down in the comments. :)


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